SangIn Han

Degrees earned: DMA Vocal Performance University of Illinois;
MM Vocal Performance Brigham Young University; and BM Vocal Performance Korean
National University of Arts.

Professional
experience:Dubuque resident Sang-In Han,
Full Lyric Tenor, is originally from South Korea. His extensive performing
experience includes opera, oratorio, recitals and concerts in Korea and
throughout the United States. His opera roles include Tamino Magic Flute, Rinuccio Gianni Schichi, Don José Carmen, Velere Tartuff, Don Ottavio Don
Giovanni, Ruiz IlTrovatore, world premiere operas such as Lucifer The Book of Gold, and World Champion The Life of an Artist. His oratorio experience as a soloist
includes Messiah by Handel, Te Deum by Brucker, Mass in C by Beethoven, Stabat
Mater by Dvořák at Foellinger Great Hall in the Krannert Center at the
University of Illinois, Elijah by
Mendelssohn at the Utah Festival Opera Company,’s Requiem by Mozart with the Wasatch Orchestra in Orem Utah, and Sacris Solemnis by Cesar Franck in at
the United Methodist Church in Champaign, Illinois.

He
performed numerous concerts in many metropolitan cities in South Korea and in
the United States including Operas & Arias in the Tabernacle Assembly Hall
in Utah, the 100-year Anniversary of Korean Immigration Concert, the Summer
Korean Art Song Concert in Salt Lake City, Utah; the Christmas Concert, the
Valentine Concert with the Utah Festival Opera. He presented a lecturer recital
in Korea at Seoul International Art song festival.

Sang-in
served as a voice faculty member at the University of Texas at El Paso,
Millikin University and Utah State University.

Teaching philosophy:
My principal goal as a vocal instructor is to help my students realize that
singing is not a labored process, but rather a natural and pleasing act. This
is especially true when the singer has a very important message to deliver to
his or her listeners. I train my students to strive to do so in an educated,
refined and passionate manner. I believe that the best singing is conceptually
like the best speaking. Both rely on the practitioner’s ability to project
sound comfortably and for a long period of time. Therefore, I encourage my
students to understand and learn how to sing with confidence and with the ease
with which they use when speaking, which produces a beauty of their own color.
Indeed, being able to sing well is rooted in the foundation of our God-given
anatomies. The most vital aspect of singing is a healthy, expressive tone
coupled with a physical approach to the act.

In the course of my teaching career, I have found that
almost every aspiring singer has her or his own Achilles’ heel or unique challenge
that forestalls their progress. I help my students understand and find
solutions to their problems through the application of various techniques. My
intent in doing so is to show students how to eliminate barriers to their vocal
expression and thereby enhance their potential as performers. With the help of
appropriate technologies, I am able to pinpoint singing problems that might be
undetectable by young vocalists. Comparing the student’s singing with that of
the masters can be an effective teaching strategy to help students improve and
correct underlying and persistent bad habits, movements, and use of muscles
unnecessary to the singing process – all of which impede excellent performance.

Serious vocal study demands an understanding of all the elements
and influences contained in the music that is sung. The first element is, of
course, a flawless vocal technique, one that ensures vocal health, longevity,
and the ability to express the full range of meanings from subtle to dramatic
of a song or an aria with ease. Each piece contains within it not only the
notes on the page, but also the meaning behind the music. Such meaning must be
understood within its proper historical and stylistic context. It also must be
expressed with idiomatic diction and a complete understanding of the text
and/or operatic character portrayed. One of my highest priorities as a teacher
of singing is to convey to my students that their ultimate goal is a
performance in which it appears they have written the music themselves – a
spontaneous outpouring of soul and intellect that inspires audience members to
a new awareness of their humanity and their divine place in the world.

I believe whole-heartedly in holistic approach to teaching
vocal performance to my students, a conceptual framework that recognizes the
importance of movement, facility with languages, good body alignment, and
musical versatility. I also believe that today’s musical artists cannot afford
to be limited to opera, but has to be willing to explore many musical genres.

Learning how to sing is a process of awareness and
self-discovery, and I encourage each student to make those discoveries for
themselves. I assess the skill level of each student and determine that
particular student’s unique needs. This assessment demands extra time for
thought and research outside the regular lesson time. I then develop an
individualized course of technical instruction for the student and create an
individualized repertoire program because proper song choices are as important
as proper singing techniques. Further, I monitor each student’s progress in
skills development. This method of teaching requires me to be consistently
creative and inspirational in each lesson for each student.